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☆ Japan economy: Avoids recession after quarterly growth data is revised up
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-10 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Tokyo Reuters —Japan’s economy expanded at an annualized clip of 0.4% in October to December from the previous quarter, better than the initial estimate for a 0.4% contraction, government data showed on Monday. The revised figure for gross domestic product (GDP) released by the Cabinet Office compared with economists’ median forecast for a 1.1% uptick in a Reuters poll. The fresh data meant Japan’s economy, now the world’s fourth-largest behind Germany, avoided a technical recession thanks to companies’ stronger-than-expected spending on plants and equipments. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP grew 0.1%, compared with the initial 0.1.% drop reading and a median forecast for a 0.3% rise. Meanwhile, private consumption, which makes up about 60% of Japan’s economy, fell 0.3% in October to December, slightly worse than the 0.2% drop in the initial estimate.

Organizations: Tokyo Reuters, Bank of Japan Locations: Tokyo, Germany, Japan

☆ These tourist hot spots are introducing entry fees and price hikes for 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Maureen Ohare | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

See more, pay moreMore and more tourist hot spots are introducing visitor caps and entry fees to prevent overcrowding - and, whaddya know, it gives their coffers a little boost, too. There’s a new $13 charge for climbing Japan’s famous (and congested) Mount Fuji, which follows Japan’s 70% price hike for tourist rail passes. The Louvre art museum in Paris, home to the Mona Lisa, has raised ticket prices by almost a third, ahead of the Paris Olympics this summer. Walt Disney World Resort in Florida has already introduced higher park ticket prices for next year. Some of the lowest single-day, single-park ticket prices have gone up by $10 for 2025.

Persons: whaddya, Mona Lisa, It’s, Walt, Romeo, Juliet, ”, they’d Organizations: CNN, Fuji, Paris, Walt Disney World, Eiffel, United Airlines, Airbus Locations: Paris, London, Thailand, China, Seville, Spain, Louvre, Europe, Asia, Florida, Italian, Trafalgar, Bangkok, Mumbai, Houston, Australian, Lazio, Italy, Arizona, Basilicata, United States

Tokyo CNN —Akira Toriyama, the Japanese manga artist who created the enormously popular and influential Dragon Ball series, died of a brain condition last week at the age of 68, his production studio said Friday. He made his debut as a cartoonist in 1978 by submitting a short story to manga fans’ magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. A Dragon Ball Z graphic seen at the NiceOne Barcelona Gaming & Digital Experiences Festival in 2019. Paco Freire/Sipa/APHis “Dragon Ball” series went on to be featured in the same magazine in 1984 and was front and center of a creative career that spanned more than four decades. “Dragon Ball was my textbook for life.

Persons: Tokyo CNN — Akira Toriyama, Toriyama, Son Goku, Dragon, “, Paco Freire, Goku, Shen Long, Yuji Horii, he’s, ”, Eiichiro Oda, Toriyama “, ” Oda, Ball Organizations: Tokyo CNN, Bird Studio, Capsule Corporation, Barcelona, Hollywood Locations: Kiyosu City, Aichi

☆ Why this snowy Japanese island is a food lover’s paradise
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Milly Chan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Hokkaido, Japan CNN —Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost main island, is unlike anywhere else in the country. Chef Tomoyuki Takao in the kitchen of his eponymous Hokkaido restaurant. “I realized that the indigenous Ainu people were the most knowledgeable about the forest,” Takao says. It was the first Japanese wine ever served in the iconic restaurant Noma in Copenhagen, and is a firm favorite on Takao’s wine list. The ocean’s winter bountyVideo Ad Feedback Discover why these clams taste best in winter 06:25 - Source: CNNSeafood is an integral part of Hokkaido’s food culture.

Persons: Tomoyuki Takao, CNN “, “, ” Takao, Takao, ”, Sonoko Fukae, “ I’ve, Yu Uchida, Uchida, ” Uchida, Japow isn’t, Soga, Yoichi, Soga’s, ” Takahiko, Akio Kashiwamura, ” Kashiwamura, Kashiwamura, doesn’t, Akemi Yokoyama, Kazuki Akazawa, Akazawa, it’s Organizations: CNN, Japan CNN, Michelin, European, Ebetsu, ”, CNN Seafood Locations: Hokkaido, Japan, Sapporo, French, Honshu, Shikisai, Copenhagen, Takao, Burgundy, France, Okhotsk, ”, Notsuke, Tomakomai

☆ Mount Fuji introducing visitor cap and entry fee to prevent overcrowding
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Mount Fuji, a UNESCO World Heritage site and an icon of Japan, is putting new regulations in place for climbers amid concerns about overcrowding. “By strongly promoting comprehensive safety measures for climbing Mount Fuji, we will ensure that Mount Fuji, a treasure of the world, is passed on to future generations,” said Koutaro Nagasaki, governor of Yamanashi Prefecture. “In order to revive traditional mountain climbing from the foot of Mount Fuji, we will gain a detailed understanding of the Fuji-ko and Oshi culture that supported Mount Fuji worship. This 2023 photo shows a crowd of visitors beginning their Mount Fuji ascents. Mathiad Cena/AFP/Getty ImagesAccording to prefectural data, five million people hiked Mount Fuji in 2019, a rise of three million from 2012.

Persons: ”, Koutaro Nagasaki, Mathiad Cena, “ Overtourism, Masatake Izumi, Tomoyo Takahashi, Takahashi, Hanako Montgomery Organizations: CNN, Mount, UNESCO, Fuji, Mount Fuji, Heritage Fuji Division, CNN Travel Locations: Japan, Yamanashi, Yamanashi Prefecture, Kasai, Kyoto, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima

☆ Pritzker Prize 2024: Japanese housing pioneer Riken Yamamoto wins ‘Nobel of architecture’
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Oscar Holland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Calmness leads to splendor.”Across a five-decade career, Yamamoto has dedicated himself to fostering community in Japan’s rapidly expanding cities. After designing a succession of private homes in his early career, Yamamoto completed his first social housing project, in the coastal city of Kumamoto, in 1991. The central public space has no gates and can only be reached by passing through the housing blocks, a scheme designed to increase the likelihood of chance encounters. Completed in 1991, Hotakubo Housing in Kumamoto, Japan, was Yamamoto’s first social housing project. The Japanese architect will be awarded with $100,000 and a bronze medallion.

Persons: Riken Yamamoto, Yamamoto, Alejandro Aravena, Pritzker, Kenzo Tange, ” Yamamoto, “, ”, Philip Johnson, ’ “, David Chipperfield, Francis Kéré Organizations: CNN, Pritzker, Hotakubo, Saitama Prefectural University, Future University, Des, Des Moines Public Library, Neues Locations: Japan, Japan’s, Shinonome, Tokyo, Africa, America, metropolises, Yokohama, Tosu, Kumamoto, Seongnam, South Korea, Hiroshima, Koshigaya, Hakodate, Europe, Edo, Nishi, China, Switzerland, British, Des Moines, Iowa, Berlin

☆ Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index surpasses 40,000 for the first time
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index jumped above 40,000 for the first time on Monday, extending a historic rally that analysts say has just begun. The milestone comes just days after it had set a record closing high of 39,098.68, eclipsing its previous 1989 peak. Optimism regarding semiconductors boosted Taiwan’s stock market as well, with benchmark Taiex hitting an all-time high on Monday, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. Premier Li Qiang is set to announce China’s 2024 growth target on Tuesday and is also likely to unveil more stimulus measures to revive the sagging economy. Analysts widely expect the policymakers to set this year’s growth target at around 5%.

Persons: ”, Jefferies, “, chipmaker, Kospi, Hong, Li Qiang, Stephen Innes Organizations: Hong Kong CNN —, Nikkei, Nasdaq, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Nvidia, Investors, National People’s Congress, NPC, Communist Party’s Politburo Locations: Hong Kong, Japan, Beijing, Shanghai, China

☆ Japan’s population crisis was years in the making – and relief may be decades away
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The demographic crisis has become one of Japan’s most pressing issues, with multiple governments failing to reverse the double blow of a falling fertility rate and swelling elderly population. But Japan’s crisis is unique in that it’s been decades in the making, experts say – meaning its impact is particularly evident now, with relief unlikely to come anytime soon. ‘Not reversible’The first thing to understand about Japan’s population crisis is that it’s only partly behavioral, said James Raymo, professor of sociology and demography at Princeton University. As of last year, Japan’s fertility rate sat at 1.3. The real problem is that the fertility rate has been consistently low for so long.

Persons: handwringing, It’s “, –, it’s, James Raymo, ” Raymo, ‘, aren’t, Raymo, Tomohiro Ohsumi, – “, Stanislav Kogiku, “, ” Organizations: CNN, Princeton University, government’s Institute of Population, Social Security Research, Getty Locations: Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Spain, Italy, United States, India, Yonomori, Fukushima, singlehood, Vietnam, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Toyko

☆ ‘Geisha paparazzi’ are back in Kyoto – and the city is ready to take action
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

As a result, an unfortunate nickname has even been given to these tourists: “geisha paparazzi.”Foreign tourists have sometimes struggled to understand Japanese customs and etiquette. In 2015, Kyoto created pamphlets and paper handouts that used pictograms to illustrate travel “nuisance activities” like littering, using selfie sticks, smoking in prohibited areas, and taking photos of geisha and maiko. Plenty of rules, little enforcementToday, signs in three languages also explain that geisha photography is not allowed without a permit, and that violators could be charged up to ¥10,000 ($67). Most maiko and geisha (these words are both singular and plural in Japanese) use this road, making it the prime spot for “paparazzi” to gather. Still, Ota and other Gion residents are looking for ways to curb the “geisha paparazzi” issues.

Persons: women’s kimonos, Gion, Isokazu Ota, Kike Calvo, ”, Ota, maiko Organizations: CNN, Theatre Locations: Gion, Kyoto, women’s, Side, Japan, Ota, ”, Easter

The population continues to shrink, with births last year plunging to a nadir. The country’s politics appear frozen as one party holds a virtual lock on power no matter how scandal-tainted and unpopular it becomes. This is Japan, where all bad news is relative. There are few signs of the societal discord you might expect in a place with trend lines like Japan’s, such as accumulating garbage, potholes or picket lines. That equanimity reflects a no-need-to-rock-the-boat mind-set: “Shouganai” — “it can’t be helped” — is something of a national refrain.

Persons: ” Locations: Japan

CNN —Major League Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani revealed on Thursday that he is now married. “The season is approaching, I am pleased to announce to you that I have gotten married,” Ohtani said in a surprise post in Japanese on Instagram. In the meantime, he urged the media to refrain from reaching out for interviews to him and his family. Following his post on Instagram, Ohtani and topics related to his marriage became Japan’s top five trending topics on X, formerly known as Twitter, with his announcement stunning fans. “Taking off work to mourn the loss of Shohei,” one user replied to Ohtani’s post.

Persons: Shohei Ohtani, “, ” Ohtani, ”, Ohtani Organizations: CNN — Major League Baseball, Los Angeles Angels, Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Dodgers, League, Chicago White Sox, American League Locations: Japanese

☆ NASA’s DART mission: Spacecraft impact reshaped Dimorphos asteroid
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —When NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test spacecraft intentionally slammed into the asteroid Dimorphos in September 2022, the impact may have caused “global deformation” of the space rock, according to new research. Dimorphos is a moonlet asteroid that orbits a larger parent asteroid known as Didymos. The DART mission ended upon impact, but prior to colliding with Dimorphos, the spacecraft transmitted an incredibly detailed view of the little asteroid’s boulder-covered surface that is helping researchers learn more about how the space rock formed. Rather than forming a simple crater on Dimorphos, the DART impact reshaped the entire asteroid, the results have suggested. Recreating the DART impactA team of researchers modeled the impact using the Bern smoothed-particle hydrodynamics shock physics code to achieve their results.

Persons: Dimorphos, It’s, ”, Dr, Sabina Raducan, Japan’s, ” Raducan, Martin Jutzi, Hera, Raducan, Sir Brian May, Claudia Manzoni Organizations: CNN, DART, Dimorphos, University of Bern’s Physics Locations: Italian, Dimorphos, Bern, Switzerland

☆ ‘Shōgun’ review: FX’s 10-part series might be the TV program of the year (again)
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —In the early heyday of miniseries, “Shōgun” was the show of the year in 1980, and it might be again 44 years later. That chaos also creates the possibility of one regent emerging to consolidate power, and perhaps even gain the title of shōgun. Of course, in today’s heavily fragmented streaming environment “Shōgun” won’t be the massive ratings hit that it was back when there were three broadcast networks (and not much else), but those who wade into this dense history will be amply rewarded. “All men can be broken,” Toranaga muses at one point, with a quiet sense of menace and determination. If only all limited series could be half as good as “Shōgun.”“Shōgun” premieres February 27 on Hulu and at 10 p..m. ET the same day on FX.

Persons: Shōgun ”, James Clavell’s, John Blackthorne, Cosmo Jarvis, –, ” Blackthorne, Toranaga, Hiroyuki Sanada, “ John Wick, shōgun, Eager, Mariko, Anna Sawai, Buntaro, Shinnosuke Abe, Blackthorne, Richard Chamberlain, King, “ Shōgun ”, Sean Connery, Jarvis, Ishido, Hira, ”, Michael Clavell, won’t, ” Toranaga Organizations: CNN, of Regents, Apple’s, NBC, Hulu Locations: Japan, ”, “

☆ China moon spacecraft named ‘Dream Vessel’
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —China’s space agency has revealed the names of the spacecraft that it hopes will take Chinese astronauts to the moon by the end of the decade. In a news release over the weekend, the China Manned Space Agency said development was “progressing well” on the spaceship Mengzhou, or Dream Vessel, the lander, Lanyue, or Embracing the Moon, and a super-heavy-lift carrier rocket named Long March 10. The name Mengzhou is linked to the “Chinese nation’s dream of landing on the moon,” it added. The United States is ramping up its lunar program, with NASA last month announcing its plan to land astronauts on the moon in 2026, a year behind its original schedule. Last week, the commercial Odysseus lunar lander developed by Intuitive Machines became the first US-made spacecraft to touch down on the moon in 50 years.

Persons: “ Lanyue ”, Mao Zedong, Xi Jinping’s, Japan’s Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, China Manned Space Agency, NASA, Machines Locations: Hong Kong, China, Beijing, People’s Republic of China, United States, Japan, India

☆ Japan’s ‘Moon Sniper’ wakes up after long lunar night
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Japan’s “Moon Sniper” is the lunar mission that keeps coming back to life. This feat was unexpected given that the lunar lander wasn’t designed to survive the moon’s harsh temperatures. But the spacecraft’s waking hours were short, and on January 31, the Moon Sniper entered what JAXA called a “two week dormancy period during the long lunar night.” Temperatures during the lunar night can plunge to minus 208 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 133 degrees Celsius), according to NASA. The last scene of the moon from the lander’s perspective before lunar night was shared on X on February 1 once the mission team sent commands to the Moon Sniper and confirmed it was in a dormant state. This moody scene was the last image taken by the SLIM lander before entering lunar night in late January.

Persons: CNN —, Smart, SLIM, Odie ” Organizations: CNN, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA, NASA, SLIM, Earth Locations: Japan, Houston

☆ They left the US for a new life abroad. Things didn’t all go to plan
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-24 | by ( Maureen O'Hare | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Editor’s Note: Sign up for Unlocking the World, CNN Travel’s weekly newsletter. CNN —In travel news this week: trending flight routes around the world, the latest on Qantas’ record-breaking Project Sunrise, plus the Americans leaving the States behind for new lives overseas. She’s one of a number of influencers who’s struck a chord with people who love the fairytale fantasy of starting over with a new, better life. However, for the brave souls who take the plunge, things don’t always run smoothly or according to plan. But right now Death Valley National Park – the driest place in the country – is offering visitors a rare kayaking opportunity in a temporary lake in Badwater Basin.

Persons: “, ”, Kacie Rose Burns, who’s, skywatchers, you’re, Olivia, Noah, ” Expedia, there’s, There’s, Malcolm Park Organizations: CNN, Qantas, Expedia Group, Chicago, ”, Alaska Airlines, Ski Locations: America, United States, Italy, Chicago, Bahamas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Badwater Basin, North America, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Asia, Perth, Bali, Tampa, Toronto, Nevada, Australia, Sydney, New York, London, Montchavin, France

☆ Hello Kitty theme park in Tokyo closed after ‘terrorist threat’
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-24 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —A Hello Kitty theme park in Tokyo has been forced to close for the day after it received a “terror threat,” its operator said. Sanrio Puroland, also known as Hello Kitty Land, is located in Tama New Town in north Tokyo. In a statement published on the park’s official website, operators said they received “a terrorist threat email” on Saturday. Hello Kitty is one of the most famous and recognizable Japanese brands of all time. Sanrio Puroland opened in 1990 and attracts over 1.5 million visitors per year – making it one of Japan’s most popular theme parks, along with Tokyo Disney Resort.

Persons: Sanrio Puroland, ”, Kitty, Sanrio Organizations: CNN, ” Police, NHK, Reuters, Tokyo Disney Resort Locations: Tokyo, Kitty, Tama New, Japanese, Japan, United States, United Kingdom

☆ Getting the chance to play at The Masters isn’t easy. Just ask LIV Golf’s Joaquin Niemann
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Jack Bantock | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

It’s the final two sets of criteria that are most pertinent for Niemann and LIV Golf players. Though exact criteria differs between the four major championships, all incorporate world ranking points as a viable qualifier. Why is that an issue for some LIV Golf players? Mike Ehrmann/Getty ImagesHow are LIV Golf players making it to the majors? Meanwhile LIV Golf players without such past glories to stamp their tickets to major championships are, like Niemann, crossing the globe in pursuit of alternative routes in.

Persons: LIV, LIV Golf’s Joaquin Niemann, Tiger Woods, Jon Rahm, Ross Kinnaird, Nick Dunlap –, –, Niemann, It’s, Greg Norman, Gary Davidson, Peter Dawson, LIV Golf, ” Dawson, OWGR, Tom Dulat, “ It’s, it’s, ” Niemann, “, ”, don’t, Mike Ehrmann, Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune, Fred Ridley, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Rahm, Mike Blake, Reuters Rahm, Koepka, Cameron Smith, Adrian Meronk, Tyrell Hatton, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed, DeChambeau, Reed, Dean Burmester, David Puig jetted, Burmester, December’s Organizations: CNN, PGA, Augusta National, PGA Championship, British, Amateur, American Express, LIV Golf, LIV, OWGR, Hero Dubai, CBS, Golf, Augusta, Reuters, 152nd, Puig, Malaysian, Royal Locations: Augusta, Asia, Pacific, America, Saudi, Dubai, Chilean, South Africa, Malaysia, Johannesburg, Kuala Lumpur, Scotland

☆ Stocks in Japan Hit Record High, Surpassing 1989 Peak
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Joe Rennison | Jason Karaian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Stocks in Japan have looked cheap because of a weak yen, which has been a boon to exporters that make their profits overseas. Important changes to the corporate sector have also given shareholders more rights, allowing them to push for changes that favor their stock holdings. Earnings at large Japanese companies are set to rise by more than 40 percent in their latest quarterly results, according to Goldman Sachs. The biggest companies, like Toyota and SoftBank, have also reported some of the biggest earnings surprises, the bank’s analysts noted. Toyota recently rose to a record market value for a Japanese company, about $330 billion, surpassing the mark set in 1987 by the telecom conglomerate NTT.

Persons: haven’t, Goldman Sachs Organizations: Japan Exchange Group, Toyota, NTT Locations: Japan, China

☆ Japan’s Nikkei 225 surpasses its all-time high in intra-day trading
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ How this cult Japanese artist’s eerie paintings foretold our digital malaise
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Christy Choi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —In the land of Hello Kitty, kawaii (“cute”) culture and the Neo-Pop art of 1990s Japan, Tetsuya Ishida was an outlier. An untitled 2004 acrylic and oil painting by late Japanese artist Tetsuya Ishida from the Gagosian retrospective "My Anxious Self." Ishida, who had gone to art school, worked part-time at a print shop and as a night security guard. Many of the 200 or so paintings Ishida completed in his lifetime portray the gloom of becoming a cog in the economic machine. Another painting entitled "Gripe," painted by Ishidia in 1996, portrays a Japanese salaryman with lobster claws for hands.

Persons: kawaii, Tetsuya Ishida, wasn’t, Japan’s “, Gripe, ”, Gulliver, Tetsuya Ishida's, Gagosian, ” Nick Simunovic, “, ” Gagosian, Simunovic, Ishida, ” Simunovic, Gagosian Ishida, Jacky Ho, ‪, Martin Wong, Ishidia, Cecilia Alemani, ” Ishida, Robert McKeever, Tamaki Saito, didn’t, Sharp, Japan's, claustrophobia, Takashi Murakami, Yoshimoto Nara, ” Alemani, Alemani Organizations: CNN, Asia, Art, San Francisco Asian Art Museum, Venice Biennale, Hong Kong, Christie’s Asia, Japan Inc, dehumanization, Gagosian's, Sony Locations: Japan, Japanese, Japan’s, Gagosian, New York, Venice, Sotheby’s, Christie’s, Tokyo, , York

☆ Japanese Crime Boss Trafficked Nuclear Material From Myanmar, U.S. Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Ed Shanahan | More About Ed Shanahan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A man identified by federal prosecutors as a leader of Japan’s Yakuza organized crime syndicate was charged on Wednesday with trafficking uranium and plutonium from Myanmar with the expectation that Iran would use the material to make nuclear weapons. The man, Takeshi Ebisawa, is accused of conspiring with a network of associates to sell the weapons-grade material and illegal narcotics and to buy surface-to-air missiles on behalf of an ethnic insurgent group in Myanmar, the country formerly known as Burma. “It is impossible to overstate the seriousness of the conduct alleged in today’s indictment,” Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, said in announcing the charges. Mr. Ebisawa, 60, is being held in a federal jail in Brooklyn after being charged, along with three co-defendants, with international drug and weapons trafficking crimes in 2022. A lawyer representing him in connection with that indictment did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

Persons: Japan’s, Takeshi Ebisawa, ” Damian Williams, Ebisawa Locations: Myanmar, Iran, Burma, U.S, Manhattan, Brooklyn

☆ Japan’s millennia-old ‘naked man festival’ ending because of population decline
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Chris Lau | Himari Semans | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

They now face a ballooning elderly population and shrinking workforce, in a challenge to fund pensions and health care as demand from the aging population surges. Participants wearing only "Fundoshi" loincloths at the Somin-sai festival at Kokusekiji Temple in Iwate prefecture, Japan, on February 17, 2024. The Asahi Shimbun/Getty ImagesThe Somin-sai festival was one of three major “naked man” or Hadaka Matsuri festivals held in the country. It took place annually on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year at the Kokusekiji Temple in the northeastern prefecture of Iwate. Participants purify themselves with cold water on Yamauchigawa river during Somin-sai festival at Kokusekiji Temple in Iwate prefecture, Japan on February 17, 2024.

Persons: Japan’s, Daigo Fujinami, Priest, “, Kikuchi Toshiaki, ” Organizations: Tokyo CNN, Asahi Shimbun, NHK Locations: Kokusekiji, Japan, Iwate prefecture, Iwate, Okayama prefecture, Kuronuma, Fukushima

The two sides issued a joint communique, stating Japan's long-term support in helping Ukraine achieve economic stability. Japan hopes the conference will build momentum for international support for Ukraine as the war drags on and attention has diverted to the Gaza situation. The conference is largely about reconstruction and investment in Ukraine, but it’s also about Japan’s national security. Its support for Ukraine comes amid fear of China’s increasingly assertive military actions in the region. Japan, in cooperation with other Group of Seven members, hopes to link the Tokyo conference to a separate Ukraine reconstruction conference to be held in Germany in June.

Persons: Fumio Kishida, Kishida, ” Kishida, “, Denys Shmyhal, ”, it’s, Yoko Kamikawa Organizations: TOKYO, “, Ukraine, of, Japan External Trade Organization, Russia, ”, Seven Locations: Japan, Ukrainian, Ukraine, “ Ukraine, Gaza, East Asia, States, Tokyo, Germany

☆ Want to try this beef snack? Join the 43-year waitlist
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Maureen O'Hare | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Taste of JapanIn Takasago City, Japan, a brand of frozen Kobe beef croquettes is so popular that the waiting list is longer than most mortgages. Bakery chain Kimuraya is advancing that further by using AI to produce “romance bread” targeted at the nation’s love-averse youth. The Japanese island of Kyushu is where sugar was first introduced to the country by the Portuguese in the 16th century. The island retains a sweet tooth to this day and is home to Japan’s most beloved sweet treats. Try to squeeze in as many as you can on a trip to the region.

Persons: Linda Ford, they’ve Organizations: CNN, JFK, JFK Airport, Air, Manhattan, Apple, City, Henley, of Locations: Japan, Takasago City, Kobe, Kyushu, Portuguese, Turkey’s, Georgia, Rize, Tokyo, Odawara, New, Air France, Paris, France, City of, Europe, Asia, of Malta, Superior, Costa Rica

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